DeLand punter adds field goals to his arsenal

DELAND -- Punter Ryan Rodwell sold himself short at college punting and kicking camps during the summer.

However, the DeLand senior hasn't been short on anything so far this fall.

Rodwell was just being honest when he told potential recruiters that he was only the punter for DeLand's football team. That hurt his chances with teams looking for one player to do both punting and place-kicking.

Little did Rodwell know that when DeLand's preseason camp opened in August, the Bulldogs would need a kicker.

So, now the 6-foot-2 Rodwell -- who has beefed up 15 pounds to weigh in at 215 -- is able to tell recruiters he is doing it all, kicking and punting, and doing it well.

The Bulldogs' booter has already compiled some impressive highlights during DeLand's 2-0 start.

He kicked a 45-yard field goal in regulation and added a game-winning 27-yarder in a 20-17 overtime triumph Friday against Seabreeeze. In DeLand's 14-0 win in the season opener against Mainland, Rodwell averaged 43.9 yards on eight punts to keep the Buccaneers' offense pinned back throughout the game.

"Kicking just opens some more doors," said Rodwell, who remains a punter first and hopes to play for a major Football Bowl Subdivision college. "I'm getting game highlights to show my kicking capabilities."

Rodwell has been a big contributor to DeLand's victories, and if the Bulldogs are going to have success in District 1-8A, special teams are going to play a big role. The Bulldogs play Spruce Creek (2-1) in the 1-8A opener for both teams at 7 tonight at New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex Stadium.

"I'm a big special teams guy," DeLand coach Ryan Smith said. "You always want to win special teams. When you have good kicking and punting, you have a weapon. The 45-yard field goal and the one in overtime against Seabreeze, those were clutch, and those punts he had to flip the field on Mainland were huge."

Smith will admit he's not a kicking guru. So credit the DeLand coach for taking the unusual step that he did during preseason camp: He let Rodwell go to Alabama for nearly two weeks of private coaching with kicking guru Mike McCabe of One on One Kicking.

Because Rodwell hadn't kicked since his freshman season, he needed specialized instruction, which he got from McCabe, a former Football Championship Subdivision All-American punter at Illinois State.

"That was some good coaching he got there," Smith said. "He was going to get more out of being up there than he would have here."

And although Rodwell got out of two-a-day practices with his in DeLand, his trip to Prattville, Ala., was anything but a vacation.

"I got my butt kicked pretty well," Rodwell said with a laugh. "I stayed with a strength and conditioning coach, and he worked me out doing a lot of training, and I worked with (McCabe) on the kicking and punting. It was intense."

Rodwell continues to get personalized kicking/punting training with One on One Kicking's local instructor, former Mainland High and University of Miami star Dan Lundy.

"(Kicking) is going to make him more marketable to colleges," Lundy said. "His punting is lights-out. If he continues to perform as he has these first few weeks of the season, he's going to go to a really high level. He's major Division I."

Rodwell went to numerous college camps in the summer, including Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Florida State and Vanderbilt. Two of those schools -- FSU and Vandy -- have chosen other punters, but Rodwell believes he's in the running at the other schools.

He is scheduled for a visit to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Nov. 5 when the No. 3 Crimson Tide host No. 2 LSU for what could be arguably the biggest regular-season college game of the year.

"I'm really looking forward to that," Rodwell said. "We have a game (at Flagler Palm Coast) that Friday night and will be leaving for Alabama right after it."

Who knows? Maybe that will be the first of many times Rodwell travels to the University of Alabama.